Of Blood and Betrayal
by darkheart753
Summary: It felt like it was so long ago... the agony of those razor-sharp fangs sinking into my throat, the sensation of my blood being slowly drained from my body and slurped up by that thing. I should've listened when they said don't talk to strangers...


There's really no way to summarize this story, so I'll give the basic gist. It's told from Shadow's point of view, and... well, read to find out.

There might be a sequel. This depends on how many people review. The more the merrier!

The following story is rated M for strong language, gore, drug reference and sexual humor/content. All characters portrayed in the following story-save for the Professor-are property of the people who created them. No mammals were harmed in the making of this story except for a few hundred humans and a deer.

For the sequel, I am considering entering a few fan-made characters. If you are interested in entering one of your characters, please PM me. I will need name, age, gender, species, origin (including whether or not they are normal, vampire, were-animal, or hybrid), alignment, and appearance.

_**Of Blood and Betrayal**_

It felt like it was so long ago... the feel of my own warm blood slowly running down the side of my neck. The pain the fangs inflicted on me was indescribable, but I'll try. Imagine two white-hot nine-inch-nails slowly driven down into your throat and puncturing your jugular. Then, those same fangs very leisurely draining the fresh blood from your throat.

It happened when I was fairly young; fifteen, sixteen years old or so. I hadn't even had a chance to live before I was killed. I thought it would be over then and there; Shadow the Hedgehog, better known then as Project Shadow, born in the year 1864—contrary to the popular belief of 1950—killed 1880. But it wasn't over yet.

I should start from the beginning. The year was 1880, September 1st. The beginning of my Sophomore year in high school. The government, in an effort to keep my true identity—the first anthropomorphic super-hedgehog—a secret, gave me a name, a disguise, and a place to call home. I was living in Los Angeles, going to school at a public facility for juvenile delinquents. At my last school, I sort of threw the principal through his office window on the fifth floor. The government had to pay all the witnesses a million and a half each to keep them quiet. Then, they sent me to the toughest school in the state.

The first day went about as smooth as sand paper. Immediately, the teachers labeled me a troublemaker and decided to make my life the equivalent of hell on earth. As for the rest of the students... they didn't seem to know what to make of me. I looked human, but I had one thing wrong with me: my ears had grown over the summer and my hairstyle didn't hide them anymore. The tips now poked far enough out so they could be clearly identified as the ears of an animal, not a human. Many of them just stared and walked by. A few whispered nasty remarks to their friends, referring to me as the 'new freak on the block'.

Around this time, I dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a white dress shirt, a black jacket, and the most comfortable pair of boots I could find. I looked like a mean person, or so I heard when I walked through the hallways. I had jet-black hair from the time I was created, and only streaks of my hair were a bright red, so I can't imagine why people would find me remotely intimidating, other than my menacing demeanor and overall cranky attitude.

Only two kids didn't seem intimidated by my appearance or mannerisms. They waited until lunch to say something, though. Lunch was your basic prison food: the nastiest things you can imagine to eat—like monkey brains and mountain oysters—seemed to be the most common mystery meat. These kids—a boy and a girl—went to where I sat down with my tray of...something...and sat down across from me with their food. Then, they just stared at me. I looked up from staring at my slop. "What?" I inquired, narrowing my vision.

"What are those things on top of your head? They look like ears." The boy asked. He looked innocent enough, but I didn't like the expression in his eyes. They seemed too... empty. Like there was nothing behind them. The girl had the same vacant look.

I picked up my fork and dug it into the mashed potatoes on my plate. "Don't you have someone else to annoy?" I stared at the mushed vegetable as it, and my fork, crawled off my tray and across the table. Suddenly, I wasn't hungry anymore.

The girl spoke this time. "Actually, we're about as outcast as you are. Nobody likes us either. They mostly just ignore our presence. How'd you end up here?" She asked, reaching into her brown paper bag and pulling out a squashed peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The bread touching the jelly had turned coral from the strawberry jam inside. Or at least, what I assumed was strawberry jam.

All I could do was sigh and shake my head. I stood up and picked up my tray. "Right. Well, I'm going to go ahead and leave now. Have fun with your miserable lives." I grumbled. I dumped the 'food' in the trash and walked to my locker, pulling out the book I rented from the local library: _The Brothers Karamazov_. I sat down in the room the kids are supposed to wait in for the next class bell to ring and opened to the page I was on—somewhere in the middle of the book—and started reading.

I had hoped those kids wouldn't walk up to me again, but sure enough they both walked over to where I was sitting and sat by me. I groaned and glowered at them. "What do you want now?"

The boy looked eagerly at me. "I want to be your friend." The girl opened her own book—_Little Women—_and started reading.

I looked back at my book. "I don't want you to be my friend." I started mouthing the words I was reading. After about five minutes, the boy tapped on my shoulder. I glowered at him from the corner of my eye. What did I have to do to give this kid a hint? "What?" I snapped through clenched teeth.

"Whatcha reading?" He asked.

I snapped my book shut. "Why do you find it necessary to annoy me by any means possible?"

He lowered his eyes. "I... I just want to be friends..." He looked like he was about to cry.

Suddenly I hated myself. I wasn't happy about it, either. I hate guilt. I lowered my book and looked at the kid. "What's your name?"

He sniffed and wiped his nose. "Drake. Drake Yoola."

I huffed. "And you?" I pointed to the girl.

She looked up and smiled. "Ella Veera."

I rolled my eyes. The boy—Drake—looked at me hopefully. "What's your name?"

For the first time, I had nothing to say. I couldn't tell them I was Project Shadow. That'd sound dumb. "Travis. Travis T."

"What's the T for?" The girl—Ella—asked me, shutting her book.

I pursed my lips and glared. _These guys sure ask a lot of questions_, I thought. "T. That's it." I growled. She shut up and opened her book again.

I sniffed and looked back at my book and continued to read. Once again, Drake distracted me. I looked over at him through narrow eyes. "What now?"

"Well... I was wondering if you wanted to come over to our house for a sleepover or something. That'd be fun!" He grinned.

I raised one eyebrow and narrowed the other eye. "Sleepover."

"Yeah!" The girl slammed her book shut and smiled. "It'd be to die for."

Something about the way she said 'to die for' made my spine tingle, like she was hinting at something. I looked down and shook my head. "Fine. Whatever."

That night I walked home with them. They lived in a huge castle—a little strange for L.A—and their parents weren't home. I looked around and gulped. The place looked like something out of a movie from the early nineteen-hundreds. Shivers shot up and down my spine every three seconds. By the time I got used to the place, they put in the horror movies that practically took place in their castle. The fact that all those movies had scenes that looked almost exactly like this house in the background didn't quell my anxiety.

It was midnight before we thought of going to bed. Ella grabbed my arm as I headed for the guest bedroom. I raised an eyebrow and turned my attention towards her. "What is it?"

She smiled—one of those smiles that makes a guy go weak in the knees—and planted one right on my mouth. My eyes widened—not for her, but for my suit—and I gulped. If she found out now that I wasn't human, what would she do? Drake was standing in the corner with his arms crossed, watching like he'd seen this before.

"Ella, you know you're not supposed to play with your food." I sucked in some air and pushed her away. I looked at her again and realized she wasn't looking at me like I was cute; she was looking at me the way a hobo looks at a honey-glazed ham! I shoved her away and started backing up. Drake grabbed me by the shoulders and I knew I was toast.

I started to stutter. "Wh-what are you?" I managed to get out before I felt two sharp teeth dig into the side of my neck. I inhaled through my teeth and shut my eyes.

Ella stepped closer and put a hand on my chest. "Dearest Travis, you don't know? Think about it. Drake Yoola? Ella Veera?"

I could hardly breathe. I managed to say their _real_ names. "Dracula... Elvira..." My knees started to buckle and Dracula let me drop to my hands and knees. My breath came in short, ragged gasps. I could feel my own fresh, hot blood running down my neck, along my chest, and to my stomach. My arms started to shake and I could feel my temperature falling.

"He doesn't taste human." Dracula spat, now sounding like a forty-year-old man.

Elvira, who know looked and sounded like a thirty-year-old woman, lifted me by the back of the neck and saw the seam. "Of course not. This is a mask." She jerked it off and my quills fell out, revealing my furry head. She hissed and threw me down, taking a step back. "He's an... animal."

"Animal? He's a hedgehog!" Dracula picked me up by the shirt and slammed me against the wall. "How did you learn to speak?" Now his Transylvanian accent shone threw. I'd say it was a few minutes too late.

"Go... to... hell..." I wheezed, my arms and legs going numb. He hissed and handed me to Elvira.

The vampiress sank her teeth into the holes Dracula had caused and drained me of a bit more of my blood. Now, my vision was starting to blur. Their voices got slightly fuzzy. I was losing this battle for my life. "Tell us now." She snarled.

Now, I could barely hear my voice. I could only muster two more words before I blacked out. "Project... Shadow..."

I thought it was over then and there. I couldn't see or feel anything. My blood was dripping to the floor. I had a feeling this was the end for me. I marked the date. September 2nd, 1880, about fourteen minutes after midnight. Man, was I wrong.

To my own surprise, I woke up in a military sick bay with my creator standing over me. I blinked, covering my eyes to protect them from the bright light. "What happened?"

"You ignoramus. How many times must you be told that you shouldn't talk to strangers?" He shook his head and turned around, picking up a needle and peering at its contents.

I groaned. "Feels like they almost killed me."

"In but a few minutes, they would have. I was suspicious when you didn't come home. You're lucky they found you in time. Roughly two minutes later, and they wouldn't have been able to get you here in time." He stuck the needle in my arm and injected a special serum into my veins to help create more blood.

This time, I looked straight at him, our eyes locking, his gray eyes aimed at my own crimson ones. "What did they do to me?"

He shut his eyes and frowned. I didn't like the way he was looking at me. "Your defense systems don't need the tinkering I thought they needed."

"What do you mean? Professor, what did they do?" I asked, more urgently this time.

"Stay calm. Mind your blood pressure." He replied, checking the transfusion bag.

I got up, grabbed the wheeling table, and threw it across the room, surprised at how light it felt. My arms felt like they were on fire and my gums hurt. "_WHAT DID THEY DO TO ME?_" I roared, feeling the vein in my neck bulge. My throat felt dry as a desert and my stomach gave a light growl.

The professor staggered back, his eyes wide and locked on my fangs.

_My fangs_?

I turned and picked a mirror up from the table and looked at my teeth. In the place of my somewhat normal cuspids were two razor-sharp fangs, each roughly half an inch long. I touched them to make sure they were real. They felt like ivory and I dropped the mirror, realizing that all I could see was my teeth.

_Nothing else showed in the mirror_.

I looked down at my hands to make sure they were there and turned around, thoroughly freaked out. "What's wrong with me?"

The professor shook his head. "Shadow... they made you a vampire."

It was 1950, seventy years after I was turned into a vampire. I was on the ARK, out in space with a blonde girl I met in the streets of Westopolis. She was telling me about some of the mysterious disappearances around that city. I couldn't tell her the truth. I actually liked this one.

Well, I should probably tell you what happened in the last seventy years. My creator had tried to cure me, but it only invoked hidden... abilities... that nearly killed him. With every passing day, the thirst became greater and greater. I read books on self control and restraint, took up yoga, and even tried meditation, but nothing could get my mind off it.

The professor was my first taste of human blood. I didn't mean to, honest. I just... lost control. I couldn't hold back anymore. He cut his finger while making a pot roast and I... by the time the medics got there, he was gone. His blood stained my gloves. They tried to take me in, but by that time, with my full strength renewed by the fresh blood... they didn't stand a chance. One of them managed to shoot my in the arm before I killed him. Boy, was he surprised when I bled ink.

I had no choice. I ran from that place as far as I could. By morning I had ran through the entire country and crossed the country border to the next, only a mile from Westopolis. It was a big town even then, and easy to hide in. For the next forty-five years it was a constant dance of evading the police while trying my hardest not to succumb to the thirst. Then, in 1925, I found a whole clan of vampires that accepted me amongst their ranks. They called themselves 'vegetarians', but they meant that they didn't feed on humans unless absolutely necessary. It never was, though, because they had a whole herd of cattle and covered our tracks by turning the cattle we drained into ground beef to sell at a farmer's market.

It was another twenty years before Gerald sighted me on my way to the market, hauling a bag of meat. He must have noticed that the bottom of the bag had no blood, so he followed me. I ignored him, but took a detour through the back roads to the farmer's market on Main. Someone bumped into me—he was running pretty fast and I met his grandson fifty years later—and I dropped the bag. The dried out meat fell out of the bag into the street and I cursed under my breath, picking it all up and tossing it into a nearby dumpster. I went on my merry little way.

Then, only four years later, the clan kicked me out. They didn't give me a reason, they just kicked me out. I lived on the streets without feeding for a whole year before the blonde girl found me.

What I am about to tell you, you cannot tell anyone else. Ever. This year is 2010, is it not? Well, nigh on sixty years ago, there was an accident on the Space Colony ARK. Only recently was my memory restored of the events of that night in 1950. The whole year that Gerald kept me on the ARK, I never tasted fresh blood. They fed me as if I was a normal human being: burgers, spaghetti, other foods most people found delectable. I hated it all, but ate without complaint. Once again, the thirst continued to swell up, becoming stronger and stronger with each passing day.

I withstood the urge for the entire year, often staring out at Mobius and wondering if things had changed there while I was gone. The blonde girl often came and talked to me about why we were there. How society had rejected her grandfather's genius for madness and they escaped to outer space in orbit around the planet, far from harm. Every now and again, the Guardians of United Nations would come and bring supplies to the ARK and then leave.

The day of the accident, the GUN commander at the time came aboard the ARK and spoke with Gerald about his experiments. He was working on studying a creature he referred to as the Ultimate Life Form, created by the best scientist of the late 1800's before his bizarre accident. I knew exactly who he was talking about because, after all, I was his greatest creation. The commander wanted to see just how this research was going, so Gerald brought him in to see me. At the time, I was playing a game of pinball.

They walked in and started asking me stupid questions, like how they found me and how I got my powers. I finally got tired of it and told him to get the fuck out. He got pissed off and pulled a gun on me, so I did what any trained creature would have done on instinct; I ducked out of his range, grabbed the pistol, and turned it on him. He started telling me how foolish that was, how he was going to have me locked up and he was going to personally have the key to my cell melted down and turned into a fork. He finally pissed me off so much that I shot him in the leg.

Unfortunately, that's not all that happened. Within minutes, blood was gushing out of the wound and covering the floor. Eventually, the smell drifted up into my nostrils. That's when I lost control for the second time in my life. After draining him, Gerald tried to stop me and I couldn't help myself.

Y'see, when you're an inexperienced vampire, the thirst can grab hold fast. Once it gets its grip, it won't stop until its quenched, which can take a lot of blood, depending on how long you were deprived.

I didn't stop until almost everyone on the ARK was dead. When I came to my senses, I had the girl in my arms, blood running down her neck, and that same bloody taste in my mouth. Only it wasn't my blood that I was tasting. I looked at the holes and matched them perfectly to my own fang shape and spacing. It was my own fault. I had slaughtered everyone on the ARK, whether I cared for them or not.

I'll admit it. I was scared. I threw her down, got into one of the escape pods, and ran away. A short time after that, I was captured by the GUN and put into a cryogenic freeze to wait for someone to free me.

I awoke to the feeling of a needle digging into the nook of my right elbow. My eyes snapped open and I immediately switched into offensive mode, grabbing the arm holding the needle and nearly snapping it in twain.

Excuse me, two.

The holder of the needle gasped and wrenched his arm away from my vice-grip, falling back and landing on the ground. Only then did I see he was no threat to me. After all, my strength was unmatchable. At least, nobody had come close as of yet. I narrowed my eyes and hissed through clenched teeth. "Who are you?"

The old man got up and grinned. "Why, I am Dr. Eggman! The greatest scientist of all time! NYAHAHAHAHA!"

The guy was obviously half-baked. I sniffed and crossed my arms. "Oh yeah? Prove it. Have you been able to resurrect the dead?" I smirked, knowing only three scientists had ever even come close and only one succeeded.

He frowned. "No. But I mutated it once!"

I rolled my eyes. "That's not the same. Still, you did manage to give my heart a jump-start so I could live again. I suppose I owe you _something_." I jumped off the table and walked over to him, kneeling on one knee and bringing my arm in front of my chest. The other arm I allowed to slack to the floor. Though it pained me to say it, I owed this human my life. "In an effort to pay what you've done, I wish to loan you my powers as a tool for whatever you bid until the debt is repaid."

The man clapped his hands several times and chuckled. "Excellent! I already have a job for you."

The thought that the guy knew of my chivalrous nature crossed my mind and I thought of slaughtering him. I dismissed that at the thought of how bitter his blood would taste, harboring nothing but thoughts of world domination.

Meh.

"I want you to go and find me the seven Chaos Emeralds."

Something in the back of my mind stirred and I thought of what I once overheard the first professor talking to a corporal about.

**Flashback**

"_The seven Chaos Emeralds will be able to fuel him with their power just enough to render Shadow's powers unstoppable. If we could but find them, Shadow would truly be the ultimate weapon." The professor confirmed, unrolling a photo sheet and showing it to the corporal. "They come in seven colors, and they're completely unbreakable. They convey the powers of the elements into the users and together fuel Chaos. The legend goes:_

_Green for sevens types of life,  
White for seven angels,  
Blue for seven oceans clear,  
Gold for seven halos.  
Purple for mountains majesty,  
Light blue summer sky,  
Red for fiery fates aglow  
And mortals doomed to die.  
When assembled, all shimmering,  
Combined with Midnight's Bane,  
Must save the world from scorching ruin  
Lest make anew again."_

**End Flashback**

I narrowed my eyes and stood to full height, crossing my arms. "Chaos Emeralds..." I repeated slowly, pacing back and forth. I nodded , bowed, and shot out the door to begin my search.

I recovered the clear Chaos Emerald without too much trouble, as well as the light blue and yellow. When I got to the green, I was deeply surprised. I grabbed the Emerald at the exact same moment that a bright blue hedgehog grabbed it. I narrowed my eyes and ripped it out of his grip. "I'll be taking that." I growled, taking two steps back. He lunged forward and tried to punch me. With a smirk, I used Chaos Control to teleport myself to the top of a building. I knew exactly who this joker was.

He glared up at me. "Who the heck are you?" He asked, pointing an accusing finger at me.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "So, you're Sonic the Hedgehog. I heard that you and I looked alike, but I didn't think it would be this close. It's uncanny." I held up the Emerald and Chaos Controlled to the top of a nearby light pole. "By the way, the name's Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog."

He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Well, I think you're the faker. I'm the real Sonic. There's no way you can be me! And I'd appreciate if you'd turn yourself in!"

This time, I laughed, my fangs glinting in the pale evening light. "Well, well, well. Look who's talking. I was here first, so you must be the faker. Beyond that, you don't look tough enough to be my fake. I bet I could break you like a toothpick." I jumped down and put away the emerald, walking closer. We were now nose-to-nose, and my eyes locked with his. "You're not even worth fighting with."

Then, his friends showed up: a redheaded brat with blue eyes, a light pink hedgehog, a golden fox with an extra tail, and a little bunny with a Chao floating next to her. Now that we had an audience, it'd be that much more enjoyable to-_no,_ I thought, _now I can't drain him dry. I can't work with an audience watching._ The kid's jaw dropped. "What the heck is going on, Sonic?"

"Chris, stay back! This guy could be dangerous." Sonic barked.

With a sneer, I punched him in the gut. "Could be? What an insult. The proper thing to say would be I am dangerous—very dangerous indeed." I bared my fangs and lifted him by the throat. "And I don't appreciate you thinking I'll oblige your wishes." I threw him and crouched into a proper fighting stance. _At least I'll be able to kick his ass in front of them so they know just how weak he is_.

Sonic stood up and glared at me, crouching into his own fighting stance; it looked like he was about to charge at me. I sneered. "Then bring it on!" with that, he shot towards me. Instead of trying to catch him, like he expected me to do, I stepped to the side and let him run into the wall. He groaned and slid down the bricks.

"Watch where you're going." I jeered. He got back up and ran to the left, urging me to catch him if I could. Without responding, I clenched my teeth and shot after him. Before long, I was jogging alongside him, my rocket shoes allowing me to glide across the pavement. He tried to tackle me, but I teleported out of the way with a sneer.

After a while, we skid to a stop at a clearing where we could fight. Before he could attack, my ear twitched. Far off in the distance, sirens wailed as the human police drove towards the battleground in their cars. "Well, it sounds like I should make my getaway. It was nice meeting you Sonic. I can't wait for a chance to break your neck again." With that, I Chaos Controlled back to the doctor's base.

I walked into the room without a word, tossing him the four gems. "The green, yellow, light blue, and clear Chaos Emeralds are in your position. It won't be long now before you have all seven." I snarled, apathetic to whatever he had to opine.

I mean, say.

He chuckled heartily and floated over in his levitating contraption of a vehicle. "Not to worry about that, though. Soon, it won't matter. I'll have my weapon ready and we'll be able to set in motion our hostile takeover of this pathetic rock!" He declared, thrusting his fist into the air. "Oh, speaking of _we_, I have someone for you to meet: your new partner."

I narrowed my eyes. "I thought we went over the fact that I work _alone_."

The doctor obviously ignored what I said as the door to the room opened and in strode a snow-white bat with a form-fitting cat suit on. She was a gorgeous dame, nice body with all the right curves, big aquamarine eyes. Still, there was an air of authority around her. She knew what she wanted and knew how to get it.

She stopped in front of me, looking me over. "This is who I'm working with, huh? He's cute, I'll give him that."

My right eye twitched and I huffed, turning away and crossing my arms. "If you think I'll work with her for a minute, you're crazy. I. Work. Alone."

With a giggle, she stepped into my line of sight and gave me a seductive look. "I'm sure you'll learn to work with me. I can be very... persuasive." She added suggestively. Now she had made her way to be standing right in front of me, mere centimeters from my chest. With a smirk, I lowered my eyelids, and unfortunately my guard.

To my surprise, she brought up her knee and slammed it right between the legs. I howled and doubled over, falling to the floor and curling into a fetal position. Daring not to speak, I lay there in agony, waiting for the pain to dissipate. This fragrant rose had a very sharp thorn.

After a while, I managed to stand without staggering, still cupping one hand in front of my highly sensitive groin, still hunched over to protect it. I held up one finger and stood there, just gulping down the wind that just got knocked out of me. She walked over and patted my back. "Do we have an understanding?"

I fought the temptation to wrap my fingers around her neck, slam her into the wall, and sink my fangs into her shoulder, to taste that sweet, warm concoction flowing through her veins. Trust me, not nearly as easy as that sounds to you. Remember, haven't fed in half a century? Still, I wasn't sure I could trust her... or my voice to not crack. Not wanting to get racked again, I rose my head, nodded quickly, and let it drop again.

She laughed again. That was easy for her to do. She didn't _have_ balls. She didn't _know_ what getting racked felt like. She didn't _have_ a Y chromosome.

Lucky bitch.

I stood up straight and glowered at her. "We're _not _friends. We're _not_ partners. We're _unwilling __colleagues_. Do not try to make it any closer than that. Just fellow workers." Somehow, making this clear made me feel better. I don't know why, it just did. Half of me felt better, anyway. The other half was screaming that the half that felt better was an idiot half for not wanting her. In response, the 'idiot' half was calling the other half a man-whore half. I decided I wasn't going to get in the way of their argument.

Around that time, I realized it was a long time since I'd gone to Mobius just to have fun, to enjoy myself. So, I strode out of the room, leaving her and Dr. Robotnik. It was high time for me to have some Shadow time.

Once on the planet's surface, I headed to the nearest diner. It was a nice, hometown place with photographs of old actors and singers that ate there, waitresses on roller-skates, and slices of apple pie that you had to take home, they were so big: the classic 50's and 60's teenager after-school hangout. The booths had soft, red leather seats with walnut frames and oak tables. In the far corner, there was an elderly couple sharing a milkshake and enjoying a friendly game of chess. Other than that, the diner was deserted, other than the pink female hedgehog at the counter. I sat down on one of the swivel chairs at the bar and cupped my hands together in front of me patiently.

She smirked and strode over. "Hey, hot stuff. What can I get you?" She had a high, overly-cheery voice and a silly grin the whole time. It creeped me out, but I couldn't really just leave now. She leaned on the counter in front of me.

"Um... I'll just have a cup of coffee and a cheeseburger." I replied, trying not to make eye contact, and coming up with a good excuse for not doing so by looking around at the pictures on the walls.

One, above the refrigerator, was of Elvis Presley, autographed and silver-framed. Another, this one above the door, was Ritchie Valens. This too was autographed, and I could hear the jukebox playing _La Bamba_. You had to admit, this place was charming.

The pink hedgehog came back with my coffee and simpered, setting the steamy styrofoam cup in front of me. "Cream or sugar?" She inquired.

"I take my coffee black." I responded, lifting the cup from the counter.

"Who said I was talking about the coffee?" This threw me off and I looked at her funny. She didn't look like she was joking.

For a while, I couldn't think of a comeback. "Excuse me?" I finally responded with a curt look, tilting my ears forward. That usually gave an irritated feel to whatever I said, and she backed off then.

Now, it was solely a cashier-customer relationship between us. That made things simpler. It was quiet for a long time, the only sound coming from the jukebox, now playing a song I couldn't remember the name of.

_Why do birds suddenly appear_

_Every time you are near?_

The artist's name had something to do with building a house, I think. I can't remember. It'll probably come to me later, but right now I'm concentrating on my cheeseburger when the moron I was fighting earlier, Sonic, kicks in the door of the diner and sits next to me, glaring.

"What're you doing, flirting with my girlfriend?" He asks, grabbing my shoulder and spinning me to face him.

I try to hold back a snigger and roll my eyes. "_She_ was flirting with _me_, blueberry. Back the fuck off." I snarled, grabbing his wrist and throwing his hand off my shoulder.

Obviously this kid couldn't take a hint, and this time he grabbed my throat. Again, the thought of going vampire on this jackass crossed my mind, but I looked at the elderly couple in the back. They were staring, the old man turned fully around in his chair to see my reaction. They appeared to be a happy couple, maybe married for years. This was their night out at an old hangout, maybe. The two of them looked like Peter Parker's aunt and uncle.

I glared back at Sonic, and an idea sparked in my head. Maybe a display of physical power would get him off my back. I grabbed his arm and, with a flick of the wrist, dislocated it from his shoulder. A popping noise rang through the diner, and he winced, sucking in air through clenched teeth. I had this son of a bitch nailed to the wall; he was at my mercy.

As he fell to his knees, I brought my face close to his, a dark glimmer in my eyes. "Try grabbing my throat again, and you'll feel these fangs on yours." I snarled, flashing my vampiric teeth. He shuddered and looked away, lowering his eyes.

With a psychotic grin, I threw him to the ground, simultaneously popping his arm back into place. Then, I tossed a ten on the counter and left. The thought occurred to me that I never touched my cheeseburger. Damn. I was craving a cheeseburger.

Alone, I strolled to the local park and found a bench near the duck pond to sit on and brood. So I sat, brooding... brooding... brooding... boring... yawning... and eventually falling off the bench, flat on my face, sleeping.

I woke up the next day with a broken nose. "Ow." I muttered, slowly getting up and rubbing my gravel-encrusted face. _It'll pass_, I thought, smacking my right cheek to wake myself up and snapping my nose back into place. Now, there was a short kid staring at me, a small bee with the kind of goggles you'd find on a pilot. "What do you want?"

He grinned. "Hey, he's awake! HE'S AWAKE, HE'S AWAKE, HE'S AWAKE!" He shot into the air and started circling me.

This kid was already getting on my nerves. I finally got tired of it and smacked him away. "Buzz off, kid." I snarled, already starting the long trek back to Robotnik's base on Mobius. Whoever the kid was, he was gone now. Thank goodness.

It took less time than I thought, but I was awaited at the base by a pair of heavily distraught acquaintances. Rouge ran forward and wrapped her arms around me. I gasped and jumped back, surprised by this sudden display of affection. For a while I just stared at her, glad that she left me alone.

Finally, words found there way to my mouth and I glowered. "What did I say about you and me?" I snapped, pushing past to confront Dr. Robotnik. Whatever he had to say, I was ready for it. Despite sleeping on my face, I'd had a good night's rest.

"Where were you?" He half-shouted, half-screamed. I didn't flinch, but let my upper lip twitch as a sign of disinterest. Then, he picked me up by the scruff of the neck and carried me into the base.

I didn't protest, but inside I was ready to slit his throat and lap up the results, even if they were bitter. This prick needed to be taught a lesson. After being 'chauffeured' through the entire base, he threw me down in a cage, set inside his lab. More face-plants. I slid a foot and lay there for a solid minute before slamming my hands on the ground palm-side down and pushing myself off the ground, shaking my head and turning about.

"You can come out of there when I need you again." He huffed, leaving me alone in the darkness of his lab as he slammed the door shut.

For a while, I sat in silence, mulling over my options. Option A: break the bars, slaughter Eggman, and escape to the ARK, living the remainder of my days in solitude, totally isolated from the outside world only to watch the humans destroy their pathetic planet. Option B: stay in this jail-cell, wait for Eggman to either need me or die, then do as I'm told. Finally, Option C: stay in this jail-cell, wait for Eggman to need me, and use the opportunity of being outside to escape and enjoy myself again.

After all, last night rather sucked.

If I followed Option A, I would have to kill the bat, too, to prevent her from following me and bothering me until the day she dies, most likely because I got tired of her and turned her into a Happy-Meal. This, surprisingly, bothered me, where I'd been cold to my emotions until she came around. What was happening to me?

Option B would make me a puppet, and I'd half to wait until the fat man died before I was free from eternal servitude. _That could take a while_, I decided, _and who knows how old this guy is or even if he's immortal_.

Finally, Option C. This was almost exactly like plan B, but this one could possibly result in him sending his foolish robotic goons after me, and where could I hide? Nobody that Sonic knows would like me, and I can't stand humans. Eggman knows how to get to the ARK. It's a lose-lose.

Once I decided to go with plan B until I come up with another option, I got up and started walking around the perimeter of my cell. It was fairly large, considering my small stature. After ten cycles of this I got bored and tried to touch the ceiling without standing on my tip-toes.

Of all the worthless human inventions, I hate jail cells most. So, I decided to sit in the middle of the cell and stare darkly out into space. And there I sat.

After what seemed like hours, Rouge walked in with a tray of food for me. A carton of milk, a ham sandwich, a small bag of Sun Chips, and a burnt cookie. I rolled my eyes as she slipped it under the bars. "The doctor sent these for you."

"Like that's going to improve my mood. I'm locked in a cell for having a bit of fun. Besides, I'm not hungry." I lied. The truth was I was famished _and _thirsty. She didn't leave; instead, she unlocked the door, slipped in, and locked it behind her, taking a seat next to me on the ground.

For a fleeting moment, I wanted to take the opportunity to turn on her, pin her to the floor, and kiss her until she passed out so I could steal the key and get out of here, but I decided against it. Why, I don't know. Still, kissing her didn't seem a bad plan...

"I'm sorry about earlier. I just..." She trailed off. A nagging feeling told me that she was worried about me, which made little to no sense. We'd only just met a day before. How could she care about me like that so fast?

"Just forget it." I finished her sentence shortly and sharply, folding my arms in front of my chest and looking away.

Her voice sounded hurt. "I'm sorry. It's just... I don't know." She scooted closer, and I felt her leg brush up against mine. That brief moment of contact sent shivers throughout my body, and I was genuinely confused. Why was I growing so attached to her?

"Whatever." I tried to let it roll of my shoulders as a crush, but it seemed deeper than that to me.

A long moment of silence passed between us. Surprisingly, I silently begged her to speak again, to let me hear her sweet voice again. Why was this happening to me? I've never felt like this about anyone. Why here? Why now? Why _her_?

What happened next both vexes and shocks me. Rouge reached over, grabbed my right cheek, and twisted my head so I was facing her. Then, she leaned forward and pressed her slightly-parted cherry red lips to mine. My eyes widened and I opened my mouth in shock. In response, she pushed me onto my back and fell on top of me, sliding her tongue into my mouth, tracing the contours of my gums with it and drew her fingers along my cheek, down my neck, and to my shoulder, holding me in place.

But the kiss isn't what bothers me. I wasn't fighting. Even though I plainly stated we were only colleagues and that's as far as it would get, I didn't have a problem with it. Actually, I started kissing her back, shutting my eyes and gently wrapping my fingers around the back of her head, bracing myself on my other elbow.

We sat in this position in silence for a good five minutes before it got weird and we both pulled away, still making eye contact. She got off and scrambled to her feet, straightening her hair and trying not to look at me again. I lifted myself up and stood in silence, waiting for her to organize herself and change the subject. However, I didn't want it to change. I wanted to be back on the floor again... kissing... with less clothing on... if you catch my drift. And, for once, there was no argument from either half of me. This is good.

Again, she turned to me and frowned. "I'm sorry. That was too much." She lowered her eyelids and stared at the floor, searching for a hole to crawl into.

I couldn't just let her feel bad about it. I walked forward and touched her cheek, using the same move she used on me. Our eyes met and we stood in silence, in a kind of wordless agreement. She nodded and got ready to leave the jail cell. "It never happened. As far as anyone else is concerned." I said quietly so only she could hear. She nodded and left the room, locking the cell behind her. I lowered my head and glanced at the food. Now I wasn't lying. I wasn't hungry; not for food, anyway.

I was hungry for her.

For three days, we didn't speak to each other. She brought my daily meal, I ate half-heartedly, but fast, and she left with the tray. It killed me on the inside, but I refused to show weakness.

Finally, on the fourth day, she slipped me my tray and sat down on a bench outside the cell while I ate. Today, I was determined to talk to her and get an answer. "Hey." I started. She didn't reply, just stared at the floor. "I'm sorry about Tuesday."

I was elated when she answered. "I never _could_ get the hang of Tuesdays."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't think anyone can. Too early in the week to be pumped, too late to be tired. Zombie day." At this, she laughed. "The only thing you can do is drool on your desk and attempt to stay conscious."

She smiled at me and shook her head. "You're something else."

That night, she came in again, only this time without a tray. I was lying on my cot, just dozing off, when I heard the hinges of the cell door squeak. Slowly, groggily, I sat up from my bed and looked around. "Hello?" I hissed, cautious not to wake up the doctor.

The next thing I knew, she was in front of me, eye-to-eye on her knees. I opened my mouth to say something, but she put a finger to my lips to silence me. Quietly, she moved in and pressed her lips against mine, pushing me back onto the cot and climbing up on top of me.

She hooked her fingers under the edge of my shirt and started to pull up, but I reached down and grabbed her wrists, freezing them at my lower ribs. "Don't you think we're taking this a little fast?"

With a grin, she released my shirt and leaned forward, past my mouth, and gently nibbled on the tip of my ear. I shivered and gulped, nervous for the first time. "Life's short. Let's live it up."

I didn't have an argument set up for a response like that. I have to admit: I'm not so sure about this. As she unzipped my jeans, I couldn't take my mind off the thirst and, more importantly, if I could control myself, especially with the adrenaline pumping and heart racing events that would happen next.

It lasted for a good hour and a half. When we were done, we lay there on the cot, listening to each other's breathing. I had my arm around her shoulders, and the only thing covering us is the thin blanket she brought me on the first night I was locked in here. On the floor, our clothes are lying in heaps near the bed, icy cold by now. Her head is rested on my chest, rising and falling with each breath. Most of what happened, I don't remember, but I'm happy to say that I didn't taste blood in my mouth and there were no bite-marks anywhere on her.

Obviously, I was strong enough for this.

She breaks the silence with a soft moan, readjusting herself and glancing up at me, her glistening teal eyes reflecting in my own. "Do you like me?" She asks, cuddling into my warm body.

I can't blame her; we just had sex and we hardly know each other. And it's cold in here. "Yes." I reply, resting my head on the top of hers, pressing my lips to her forehead.

"I mean, _like,_ like me." Evidently, she isn't convinced.

Rouge is staring at me now. I've got a serious, no-nonsense expression on my face. "Yes." I persist, rubbing her shoulder. "Of course I do. I let you get this close, didn't I?"

She sits up, and I follow suit. We're staring at each other. "But you said we were just colleagues. You said we weren't friends. You _said_ it wasn't going to get any closer than that."

Shit. I didn't think she'd bring that up. "I..." I have no answer for her. Something pops into my head and I spit it out. "I was covering my feelings. I didn't want to seem... desperate." Desperate? That's the best I can come up with?

It did the trick, though. Rouge smiles and scoots closer, bringing a hand up to my cheek and kissing me again. This whole thing seems a little fast, but I don't care. This is the first time I've been intimate with anyone in over a hundred years, so I roll with it.

After five more minutes, she pulls away, glancing at her watch. "It's late." She mentions, showing me the green glowing numbers.

It was already 1:12 in the morning. She got off the cot and started putting on her catsuit while I watched. After last night, there was nothing I hadn't seen of her anyway. As soon as she was dressed, she strode over to me and gave me one last kiss. "Good night, kitten." I teased.

She gave me a wink and sashayed out of the cell, locking the door behind her. "Until tomorrow, tiger." She replied, leaving the room.

For a while, I sit in silence, reflecting on what had just happened. I just went for a roll in the hay with the most gorgeous woman I'd seen in the last century and a half. It was hot, it was heavy, and I wanted more. But first, I noticed my thirst was starting to make the inside of my throat swell and my eyes stung. It was time.

I pulled on my clothes, strode over to the bars, and wrapped my hands around them. Driven by thirst, I jerked them apart and bent them outward, giving myself an escape route. This would be quick. Within minutes, I was outside and headed for the forest.

It was cool this time of day, and the chilly air cooled me down after the steam I created with Rouge. I looked around and, to my deepest joy, found a target. A sturdy-looking doe with nowhere to go. Now was my chance. I jumped down from my perch in a nearby tree on top of her, knocking her to the ground. She kicked around while I pinned down her head and shoulders and sank my fangs into her neck. She screeched out as I fed on her warm blood, gulping down the crimson liquid. Soon, I was almost finished, and she lay still, dead from the bleeding.

When I was all done, I stood up, licking the blood from my fingers, my lips, around my mouth. Almost instantly, I felt better. Stronger. Ready to tackle another day. My throat felt moist, my eyes caught more movement and colors than before. It was nice.

Then, I remembered that Eggman would go into my room at five AM to make sure I didn't escape. Again, I cursed. How long was I out? It didn't matter. As long as I could get there in time, no problem. I raced across the landscape at breakneck speed, wondering what time it was. The minute I got there, I slipped through the window, landed softly on the floor, shot into my cell, bent the bars back into place, jumped on my cot, threw my shoes off, and lay down on my blanket face-up, pretending to be asleep.

Not a moment too soon. As I got comfortable, the door swung open, and the big guy walked into the room, turning on the light. I groaned and covered my eyes. With a chuckle, he threw a screwdriver at me. "Get up, hedgehog. It's time for you to do something productive."

_I just did something productive. Reproductive, anyway,_ I thought. Slowly, I sat up and pulled on my shoes. I rubbed my face and grumbled something inaudible before getting up and shuffling over to the bars. "And what's that, doc?" I mumbled, pressing the top of my head to the bars and making it seem like I was groggy from just waking up.

"I've located another emerald. You and Rouge are going to go get it." He tossed a walkie-talkie my way and unlocked my cell before leaving the room. "Hurry it up."

Happy to not have to act any longer, I picked up the communicator and kicked open the door, striding out of the cell, pulling on my leather trench-coat, and into the hall to go toward Rouge's room.

She woke up at eight to me staring at her in silence with two communicators in my hands. I set one down in front of her and pushed it to her. She was still tired too, and picked it up slowly. With a nod, I got up and left so she could get ready.

Moments later, we were out the door to find the emerald.

We were on Prison Island, looking for a way in. Neither of us really wanted to talk about the night before, so we searched in silence before I found a sewer pipe. "This could work." I said, pointing to the hole. "It stinks, and we'd have to find a way to get in without shooting out a toilet, but it'll work."

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Ew," was the only thing she said.

I paused. "Or we can keep looking and possibly be discovered."

"Mmm..." Rouge thought for a while. "Yeah, trudging through poo water sounds better than being caught."

"_And killed_. Don't forget _and killed_."

"Right-o. Sewer pipe it is." She shuddered, then glided down into the pipe. I sighed and jumped down, my trench-coat whipping in the wind. I landed with a soft padding on the edge of the drainage trail, quickly pulling off my trench-coat and hiding it in the bushes. With another sigh, I followed Rouge into the tunnel, lighting a Chaos Spear for illumination.

We tread in silence, keeping a sharp eye out for potential spies and rats. Finally, we reached a ladder up into the base. "Jackpot." I growled with a smirk, absorbing the energy from my Chaos Spear and waiting for her to land first. "Ladies first." I joked, bowing in front of her.

She crossed her arms and glowered at me. "Very funny." Ignoring my offer, she flew through the hole.

I smacked my forehead and gripped the rungs of the ladder, pulling up my muscular form as fast as I could. When I got into the room, I couldn't believe our luck. There were absolutely no soldiers patrolling this hall, and the gem was showing to be only one hall over on the scanner the doctor installed in our communicators.

We looked at each other and smiled. "Bingo." We said in unison, and laughed. It was the first time I'd heard myself laugh. The sound rang through the hallways, this one a hearty, genuine laugh, deep and full. She grinned and patted me on the back.

"Not bad, tiger." She added, giving me a wink. Obviously, she was comfortable around me again. This was progress.

Now, it was time for business. We snuck a peak around the corner and spotted the door to the emerald. It was heavily guarded, and I couldn't help but sneer. This was my opportunity to show off my skills in front of Rouge. Maybe now I could really impress her with what I could do. "Leave them to me." I growled in a serious voice.

She backed up and got ready to watch. "Let's see what you're made of, Shady."

"Shady?" I paused, staring at her. Without waiting for a response (or explanation for that matter), I jumped up onto the ceiling and pushed a tile out of place. "Up here. If someone comes down this hall, being seen is the last thing we want to happen." She nodded and hopped up into my arms and I hoisted her up into the air vent. Then, I crawled in after her and made my way to another opening over their heads. I nodded, then started my plan.

I opened the air vent and pulled a rope from my pocket. Then, I tied one end of the rope to my foot. After that, I handed the other end to Rouge. "Whatever you do, don't let go of this rope. I will seriously fall on my head. If I tug the rope twice, let go, replace the grate, and cover your ears, because some serious shit will hit the fan." With that, I grabbed part of the rope near the edge of the vent and gradually worked my way down, like a spider lowering itself over its prey. Within seconds, I was above the guards.

Here was my chance. I tied the rope around my waist and got ready to fight them upside-down. This would be interesting, something I'd never tried before. Even though I was a vampire, I refused to sleep like the others, y'know? It just didn't seem natural. Anyway, I balled up my fist and punched one of the guards in the face. He fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. When he heard the noise, the other guard spun toward me.

I almost forgot about him. He pointed his gun at my head and glared from behind his mask. "Untie the rope around your waist, lower yourself to the ground _slowly_, and put your hands where I can see them." He snarled, cocking the gun.

I started to chuckle. "Go ahead and shoot, moron. It'll be the last thing you do." I could already feel the thirst coming back. I guess the deer wasn't a good enough tide-over. Not enough, maybe. I wasn't thirsting for deer, or even bat, I wanted human blood in my mouth. That sweet, salty blood that only humans have was my cocaine. I _needed_ to taste this guy's blood.

I untied the rope like he said, flipped over so my feet were under me, and tugged the rope twice. Immediately, I felt the rope loosen and I dropped to the floor. My time to shine was now. The shine would be dark, but that evil would fuel the fire.

I grinned and turned my head to the guard, flashing my fangs. "Hello, bag of blood." This was it. I hissed and tackled him, pinning him to the ground and punching a hole in his helmet. His expression was absolutely unforgettable. The eyes were wide, mouth partially open, a slight twitch to one side. I hooked my hands around the bottom of the helmet, tore it off, sneered, and shot my head down, sinking my teeth down into his neck. Simultaneously, the ruby-red ichor flowed into my mouth and I gulped it down, making sure every drop made it down my gullet.

After draining the last bit of blood, I wiped my lips with my thumb. I glanced at the guy's face. It was frozen in a mixture of pain and fear, an eternally silent scream. I got up, hoisted the body over my shoulder, and looked around for a possible drop site. There were lockers nearby, and I stuffed the guard into one labeled 'Emmett'. Whoever found him, this would instigate this Emmett person. Then, I jumped and hit the air vent duct opening. Rouge opened it and climbed down while I stuffed the other guard into a locker next to Emmett's, this one labeled Edward.

Upon landing, she strode over to the door and picked the lock. "We're in." She informed me as I walked over. "Unfortunately, we triggered an alarm. We've got a half hour before this hall is crawling with soldiers."

"Which is twenty-nine minutes more than we'll need." I replied, shooting over to the pedestal they had the violet Chaos emerald on. As I grabbed it, red lights started going off in the room and a cage dropped down around me.

Rouge gasped and froze in place. "SHADOW!" She shouted, starting toward me.

"NO!" I yelled, pointing at her. "Go! Get away from here! Get out! I'll meet you at the boat. If I'm not there in five minutes, leave without me." I snarled, pulling the bomb Eggman gave me from my pants pocket. "And don't forget to grab my trench-coat." I grumbled, already fiddling with the explosive's timer.

She paused, then nodded and jumped back up into the air vents. She could find her own way out. Now that she was gone, I could do whatever. I started to examine my cage. The bars were solid iron, not hollow like the doctor's. It came all the way to the ground; I couldn't simply lift it up and crawl underneath. And there was a solid steel roof. I couldn't break that. It was three inches thick. They designed this to be impossible to break out of.

Well, improbable anyway.

I smirked when I saw the fatal flaw in their design. There was a door, and the lock was a flimsy little Masterlock. They're a good brand and all, but only if you don't have vampire strength. I put one finger through the loop and jerked down. With a light snapping noise, the lock fell to the ground.

With that, I kicked open the door, set the bomb to go off in five minutes, and put it in the middle of the cage. Boy oh boy, these humans were about to get the mother of all wake-up calls. Now, though, I only had three minutes to get to the boat. I leaped through the halls and down the hatch into the sewer. I grimaced when the water splashed up on my pants, but didn't have time to try and avoid it. I ran through the river of sludge and out the tunnel.

Rouge had grabbed my trench-coat from the bushes, so I kept following the river to the ocean. By the time I got there, my pants from the knee down were soaking wet. But I couldn't see the dock. So I charged up and down the coastline, trying to find where she docked. Then, on the other side of the island, I found the skid marks from where we beached the boat. Out on the horizon, I could see a tiny black dot shrinking into the distance. I glanced at my watch. The bomb wasn't going to go off for two minutes.

The bitch left without me.

It was a pain in the ass getting off Prison Island. First, I ran into Sonic and we got into a fight. It was ridiculous and, within a minute, I was tired of it and growled that we both had one minute to get off the island before it blows higher than a kite. He ran off, shouting something about Amy and Chris. I huffed and ran to the human's dock. There were two boats left, both filling up fast with soldiers. It was my best shot. I waited until none of them were looking and ran onto the boat, hiding myself in one of the row boats.

For three hours while these humans traveled to the main land, I was cooped up in the bottom of a life boat, not daring to make a sound lest I be discovered by the useless vermin. Do you have any inkling as to how droll that is? It was completely dark and I could hear them walking on the boat and talking about the bomb that went off and destroyed the prison. Some of them were talking about two bodies they found in lockers while they grabbed their stuff. Evidently, the two guard's names were Emmett and Edward, both stuffed into their own lockers and dead. I covered my mouth and tried not to laugh. Without meaning to, I'd made it look like the two of them committed suicide.

Soon, I heard the boat dock, and all the soldiers left the boat. I peaked out of the life boat I was hiding in. They'd sent patrols on board to make sure there were no stow-aways. If they found one, their orders were to shoot on sight. Regrettably, this meant that I either had to kill everyone within sight or jump into the bay.

Attracting attention to myself was out of the question, so I slipped out of the life boat and jumped into the water. It was icy cold, and I was glad I had thick fur. I paddled away, about a mile, before crawling out onto the shore and shaking the water out of my pelt. Then, I ran full-speed to the doctor's base.

When I got there, Dr. Robotnik was chewing Rouge out for not grabbing the Chaos Emerald before leaving me to die. "I made it explicitly clear that I need the Chaos Emeralds. Why didn't you grab the emerald? I don't care about him. Forget about him. He's a pawn."

I crossed my arms and leaned on the doorway. "A pawn, eh?" The two of them jumped and spun towards the door. I sauntered in proudly, hitting the side of my head to make the water come out of my ears. "I just had to curl up and hide in the bottom of a life boat for three hours, swim a mile away from the GUN's docks, and run sixty-two miles here, all the while soaking wet and carrying precious cargo," as I said that, I pulled the violet emerald from my pocket, "but I'm just a pawn? Maybe I should keep this."

Eggman clapped his hands. "I didn't mean a word of it, of course, Shadow. I was just... er... making sure Rouge didn't leave her partner in crime behind again!" He lied as I handed him the gem.

"Whatever." I growled, rolling my eyes. "Where's the showers? I smell like wet dog." I wrinkled my nose for emphasis.

He pointed down the hall. "Third door on the right. Soap and shampoo are already in there. Towels are in the closet." He waved me away, never breaking eye-contact with the gem. "Oh, and you don't have to be in the cell anymore, as long as you don't sneak out."

I almost laughed. Obviously, he didn't know about the little escapade after my frolic with Rouge. Well, he didn't _need_ to know, did he? _What he doesn't know won't hurt him_, I thought, already heading for the showers.

It didn't take long to get ready. I tossed my clothes into the dryer in the shower room and set it for an hour drying, long enough for me to take a nice, lengthy shower. I hung the wristbands and dog tags on a hook near the washing machine and strode over to the shower. There, I twisted the hot knob and waited for the water to start steaming in silence.

Once the water was scalding hot, I stepped into the shower and let it fall all over me, warming every molecule of my body like a liquid masseuse. I pulled the low-set shower curtain and enjoyed the heat, not caring if it hurt. I was just happy to have an opportunity to have my first shower in I don't know how long.

After a while, Rouge walked in with a towel. "You forgot to grab one of these from the hall." She informed me, setting it down on the dryer. I didn't reply, but leaned against the tile-covered wall. "I'm sorry about leaving you behind. I... I was afraid the soldiers would see the motor-boat, so I bolted."

This time, I grunted in response, kind of a 'whatever' grunt. "Never mind if they see the six foot tall hedgehog with fangs and a purple Chaos Emerald that's supposed to be under lockdown. Who cares about that?" I snapped, rubbing my neck to get rid of the encrusting sea salt. "Nobody would notice him, even though he's almost solid black with bright red highlights and clothes on."

She lowered her eyes. "Dr. Eggman called me on the communicator. He said the bomb was going to go off in five minutes and I had to get the hell out of there."

"It was going to go off in five minutes, and we did need to get the hell out of there, but the operative word is WE!" I snarled, balling up my fists. "WE! Not just you, not just me, WE. That's that fancy, two-letter word that usually means 'more than one' person. Unless you're from a different planet than I am, WE equals more than one."

"I DIDN'T THINK YOU'D TAKE IT THIS PERSONALLY." She grumbled, crossing her arms. "Prick."

"You didn't think I would take it personally? Exactly how thick are you?" I snarled.

She shut up for a while. However, I wasn't prepared for her response. "Well, we got the emerald. That's all that matters." She took the 'all business' escape route! What the hell was with this chick? One day, she sneaks into your room at night and has sexual intercourse with you, the next she doesn't care if you live or die? I wasn't that bad, was I?

I didn't think so. I have washboard six-pack abs, thirty-inch biceps, taut quadriceps, a broad chest with naturally-fluffy fur, and a clean-shaven face. My eyes are a deep shade of crimson, my head_ is _a little too big for my shoulders I guess, but it's not _too_ bad. I can reach the top of my head, so it doesn't matter. I can sing pretty well, and my voice isn't too high for my age, or too low. Well, until Jason Griffith started doing my voice-overs. Then, it was a little too Michael Clarke Duncan instead of Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins. Y'know, the black guy who played the kingpin on Daredevil or the guy who did the Hannibal Lector series. Hello, Clarice.

Anyway, I gave her a shocked look and blinked twice. "Ouch," was the only thing that came to mind or mouth. "That was harsh." I muttered. She looked at me funny. "You just declared that you only cared about the emerald? What did I do?"

"Oh, I didn't mean it." She waved her hand, still off in space a bit. "At least we're alive."

I was at a loss for words. Was it something I said? Did I rub her the wrong way? Was it because I chased her off? "Is this because I didn't let you help me?" I had to know.

"Well, it hurt that you didn't want my help, but I'll live."

"It's not that I didn't want your help. I wasn't sure if there were any other traps, so I didn't want you to get caught in one. Then, I'd have to find a way out of my cell and then help you out, then we'd both have to get off the island in less than five minutes before the bomb went off. Pain in the ass, if you ask me. I figured 'get you out of harm's way' was better than putting both of us in danger." Fast lie. The truth was I didn't want her to see just how strong I was. The last girl who saw my full power was so scared that if she didn't give me what I wanted I'd take it that she broke up with me and became a nun. Ridiculous.

"Oh. I'm sorry." I shrugged and waved my hand. "Would you like me to leave so you can finish your shower?"

"Why? Afraid you might like what you see?" I joked.

"There's nothing of you I haven't seen, big boy." She replied, crossing her arms.

I gave her a skeptic look this time. "Rouge. I had sex with you less than a week after we met. Do you honestly think I feel self-conscious around you?" It was a bit of a lie, but it did the trick. At that, she nodded, but left anyway. I dried myself off with the towel she brought in and pulled my now-bone dry clothes out of the dryer. I got myself dressed quickly; Robotnik gave me the creeps. I never saw him with girls. It rather vexed me.

I mean bothered.

Once dressed, I walked out of the showers and followed Robotnik to my room: three doors down from Rouge's room. Happily, I strode in and shut the door. It was a dark room with a bed, a bean bag, and a flat screen TV that wasn't even hooked up to cable. I supposed it was a way for him to either wake me up in the morning, communicate with me before bed, or spy on me after bed. The third possibility made me want to cover _it_ with my blanket instead of myself.

The rest of the day was simply a question of how to pass time. I spent most of it lying on my bed staring at the ceiling. No real reason, I just had nothing better to do. It gave me a chance to mull things over. For five hours solid, I was pondering over the events of my life now. How I could have changed them, whether or not I would change them, that sort of thing. By not going to Dracula and Elvira's house that night, I would've saved myself an eternity of bloodlust. However, I probably would've died before I met Maria, and long before Rouge. If I had submitted to the thirst, I could've avoided destroying my creator, and Maria, but then I wouldn't have met Rouge at all because I'd still be on the ARK with Maria, assuming the humans didn't try to kill me.

To be honest, I wouldn't change one bit of my life for all the riches in the world. Even though I lost so much, I gained fortunes more with my life now. Still, I wasn't happy. There was a part of me that still wasn't satisfied. Why?

Rouge came into my room at around eight in the afternoon. "The doctor has invited us both to dinner."

"And?" I growled without taking my eyes off the tiles on the ceiling. "Who cares?"

"He said if we didn't come, he'd put both of us in a carnival for life or worse."

"...Oh." I sat up and glanced at her. "Motivational."

"Very. Oh, and after dinner I want you to come to my room. There's something we need to talk about."

Oh God. She's already wanting to talk to me about something. Guys, if a woman says 'we need to talk' in that order, no matter what else she says, RUN. That usually means something bad is about to be dropped on your plate, possibly a pregnancy or break-up. GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN.

I was never told this. "Uh... okay."

With that, she left the room, and I followed her to the dining room. There are few things in this world that bother me much. This, however, was an exception. The lights were out, and the only source of light were three candles on the long table, currently set for three people. The doctor was already sitting there, waiting for us, and nearby Decoe and Bocoe were dressed as a chef and maitre'd. I couldn't help but lower my head and cover my mouth. Those two, dressed professionally as people who work in a fancy restaurant? Come on! That's hilarious!

I pulled out Rouge's chair and she sat down, staring at the ground to avoid showing that she was blushing. Then, I sat down in my chair. "Decoe, Bocoe, bring the dinner!" Eggman shouted happily, and the duo scrambled over each other and ran out the door into the kitchen. "Now, to business. I believe I've located the other two emeralds. However, only one of them is free-floating. The other is in the possession of Sonic the Hedgehog."

"So we'll steal it. Kick his ass and nick it off him when he's powerless." I shrugged. How hard was that to figure out?

"It's not that simple." Doctor Robotnik replied. "You see, Sonic has many friends. One of them will step in and stop you. We need a way to lure him here."

Again, easy. "We give him an offer he can't refuse. A deal."

"Deal?" Rouge looked at me strangely. "What kind of deal can we give him?"

These people have obviously never committed serious crimes. "Don't you people watch television? A trade. We need something he cares very much about, something he'd give anything to protect. A friend, a lover. Something." She flinches at the word 'lover'. I think for a while, then hold up my right index finger. "We have to kidnap someone he cares about. I suggest this Chris kid. Thorndyke. We kidnap the kid, take him to the ARK, and threaten to launch him into space unless we get the Chaos Emerald. And why stop at one? We can make Sonic locate and retrieve both of the Chaos Emeralds we don't have and make him choose between them and Chris. He'll buckle like willow branches." Rouge is staring at me like she doesn't know me. I remember she hasn't seen the dark side of the moon yet, so I smirk and look at her. "What? Did no one tell you things go bump in the night? Didn't you ever wonder what makes those bumps?"

She shakes her head. "Kidnapping is high-stakes poker. Are you sure we should try something this drastic rather than just stomping a mud-hole?"

"I suppose an ass-whooping would be less illegal, but why do we care? We already broke into a government facility, stole a gem of high value, and then destroyed the entire building. I'm pretty damn sure that's enough for some serious jail-time right there. We're looking at a long time behind bars." For some reason, my gut tells me she's not the one who'll be behind bars with me. But I don't listen, a decision I'll regret for a long time.

After dinner, I follow her to her bedroom and she shuts the door behind me, locking it. At the sound of the tumblers freezing in place, I turn toward her. "Now, what is it you want to talk about?"

She walks over to me, wraps her arms around my neck, and presses her lips against mine. We kiss for another five minutes before she backs off and looks into my eyes. "Shadow... I wanted to apologize again for leaving you alone on that island. It wasn't right." She rested her head on my chest and I put one arm around her body and used the other hand to stroke her hair.

I brushed my lips against her forehead and patted her back. "It's cool. Forget it."

To my surprise, she shoved me back and I fell to the floor. Then, she strode over and stepped on my chest, pinning me to the ground. "Don't worry. I already did." With that, she knelt down over me and squeezed my cheeks. "Now, you listen to me. The next time I leave you on an island in the middle of the ocean, don't come back to Robotnik, you idiot. I left you there so you could escape, not come straight back for more punishment!"

I thought for a moment and realized she had a good idea. If I had escaped the island and not come back to Robotnik, I could've done whatever I wanted because he'd think I was dead. "Wow... should've thought of that. I _am_ an idiot."

"Yeah. A _major_ idiot." She nodded, then let up. I rubbed my chest and sat up. "Aside from that, you _are_ cute, and you're a good person."

"Good person? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm obviously not a good person. Both of the guards I stuffed into those lockers were dead. I stole Chaos Emeralds, I destroyed a government facility. I'm not good." It was a fast, hurried excuse, but I couldn't seem soft. I was a hardened criminal. No niceness for me.

She shook her head. "You're so full of shit. You just don't want to seem soft because you're a hardened criminal."

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD." I glowered at her playfully as I lifted myself off the floor. "Seriously."

"I _knew_ it!" She shouted, pointing to me with one hand on her hip. "You _are_ nice!"

"Don't post it on the internet." I huffed. "Trying to keep it on the down-low."

With a chuckle, she strode over and wrapped her arms around me as I crossed my arms. Again, she pressed her lips against mine, this time pushing me back until I found the back of my knees against the edge of her bed. I was surprised when she continued pushing me back, so I didn't have time to react before I fell back on the bed.

She fell with me, and wrapped her fingers around my wrists, pinning them above my head against the backboard. "Um... May I ask why you're pinning me to the bed?" I asked in a British accent, earning a chuckle from the albino bat.

"That's an easy one. I'm not sure I'm quite ready for our... relationship from last night to end." She replied, lowering her entire body on top of mine. "You may be a good boy, but I'm a bad girl." She explained, forcing her mouth onto mine. We French-kissed for another ten minutes before she lifted her head. "In fact, I think I need to be punished."

She pouted for a while before rolling off of me and lying beside me. To my shock, she grabbed my shoulders and pulled me on top of her, tracing her fingers along the right side of my rib cage. "So... you want me to punish you?" I repeated slowly as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

This time, she gave me a rough, sexy look that sent a chill down my spine. "I want you to give this naughty little girl some old-fashioned discipline." The last two words came out of her mouth slowly and deliberately, with emphasis on every sound. She left her mouth slightly open, and I started by kissing her and nibbling on her lower lip a bit.

When she winced slightly, I backed off and looked at her. "Too much?"

She hooked her fingers around my belt and jerked downward, forcing me to fall down on top of her. "Not _nearly_ enough." With that, she tore off my pants and we started the longest night of my life.

It was midnight before things calmed down. For a while, we lay there in silence, her head rested on my chest, her arm around my torso, her hand playing with a tuft of my chest fur. I've got an arm around her shoulders, stroking her head, my chin sitting on the top of her head. The only sound is our steady breathing, the only movement the rise and fall of our chests.

Rouge breaks the stillness. "Shadow?" She looks at me, lifting her head.

I stop caressing her hair. "What is it?"

After a while, she responds. "It's late. The doctor does his rounds in an hour. If he finds you in here, it won't take long for him to figure out what's going on with you. With us."

Another agonizing moment of quiet, then I nod. "You're right." I sit up and throw my legs over the side of the bed. "I better get moving." The only thing I've still got on are my shoes (forgot to take those off) and my dog tags (refused to take those off). Now in a slight hurry, I pull on my boxers, pants, shirt, jacket, and wristbands. "See you... later today, I guess."

Before leaving the room, I peaked out the door. "It's later than we thought. He just walked into my room!" She covered her mouth as I turned to her. "I'm going to turn away from the bathroom and make it look like I had to go so he doesn't suspect a thing. You should put on some pajamas or something." I strode out of her room, locking the door behind me, and started stepping in the opposite direction of the washroom toward my bedroom door.

As the doctor came out, he glowered at me. "Where the hell were you?"

I stared at him innocently with raised eyebrows. I twisted around a bit, pointed to the bathroom, and turned to him. "Bathroom..." I replied, giving him a funny look. "Why were you in my bedroom?" I asked, trying to sound disturbed and concerned.

He appeared nervous. "I was just making sure you hadn't tried to escape." He answered quickly.

"Right." I blinked once, then slid around him, my back always away from him. "Okay. We'll go with that for now." I gave him a thumbs-up. "Gotcha." With that, I dashed into my room and slammed the door behind me, leaning up against it and sliding to the floor. I'd just avoided a serious issue like the plague.

As I went to bed, I wondered what people avoided things like _before_ the plague.

That morning, my usual wake-up call sounded: Decoe sneaking into my bedroom and slamming two cymbals together above my head, followed by me pulling off my shoe and throwing it at him as he ran out the door. However, today I was in a particularly grouchy mood. Relocating my sneaker, I struggled to put it back on my foot as I hopped down the stairs to the kitchen, where I would inevitably steal a Pop-Tart and proceed to vegetate until the doctor found me something to do. It would be boring and extensive, but that's what I get for working for somebody.

Jack shit.

Until noon, I was sitting in the living room by myself watching a marathon of _NCIS_ on USA. I like that show. Rouge came downstairs at about ten after twelve and slumped down next to me. "How are you this morning?"

We didn't make eye contact, just stared at the television. "Grumpy."

"How come?"

"I was awakened by a robot with cymbals at four in the morning. I didn't fall asleep until one-thirty. I'm tired."

"I know that feeling. Last night was worth it though, right?" This time, we look at each other.

Before I can answer, my ear twitches as Doctor Eggman walks into the room and throws a map down in my lap. Unfortunately for me, it's a heavy map and hits me right in the nuts. I howl in pain and bend forward, removing the thick book from between my legs. At a glance, I find it to be a map of Mobius with one crimson circle on it. "That is the location of the other Chaos Emerald. Go capture Chris Thorndyke."

"I thought we agreed we weren't going to do that?" Rouge glanced up at the overweight mad scientist.

"I thought it over last night. It's the cleanest way of taking care of this. Now go do as you're told!" With that, he kicked both of us out the door.

For a while, I stared out into space, wondering what the hell just happened. One minute I'm sitting on the couch listening to Pauley Perrete explain what happened to their latest victim, the next I'm on the lawn wondering how I got there. How the fuck did that happen? "I guess we're kidnapping a multi-billionaire's child." I finally said, getting up and dusting the dirt off my pants.

Rouge blinked and stood up. "How are we going to nab this kid? He's probably guarded with the best money can buy."

I smirked and leered at her. "Come on. You're talking with a professional here." I mock-bowed. "It's already been figured out."

Not long after that, we were at Thorndyke Manor. At the moment, we were sitting on the roof waiting for him to get home from school, at which time we would jump down on top of him, gag-and-bag, and leave the ransom note on his bed. I looked down at the letter I'd written.

_Sonic and Friends,_

_We have kidnapped Christopher. If you ever want to see him alive again, you'll bring the two Chaos Emeralds we have not as of yet obtained to Dr. Eggman's base on Mobius. Those emeralds, the blue and red, we know where are. The red is in the deepest pit of Glyphic Canyon. The blue is in your possession. You have exactly twenty-four hours from now—three in the afternoon—to acquire the other emerald and bring both of them to the doctor. Then, you will get your red-headed brat. What condition he'll be in, I will not clarify. He might be alive. It all depends on how long I have to wait._

_Of course, I'm a very impatient person._

_Until then, Faker._

_Shadow the Hedgehog  
The REAL Hedgehog_

I folded up the message and stuffed it in my pocket. Rouge nudged my arm and pointed to the end of the driveway. A limousine was pulling up, presumably with Chris and his butler. This wouldn't be as smooth as we thought, but it'd still be easy. As soon as it parked, we got ready for the lightning-fast events that would have to follow if we were to get away without being noticed.

Just as I suspected, the butler got out of the driver's seat first. Then, he went around and opened the back door. As he did, Chris got out of the car, his backpack slung over his shoulder. "Master Chris, we're here."

"I know. Come on, I can't wait to see Sonic!" The kid was cheery, happy-go-lucky. I already hated his guts. If Sonic didn't get the emeralds in time, killing him wouldn't be any weight on my conscience.

As soon as they passed into our jumping range, we both leaped down from the roof and landed in front of them. Rouge incapacitated the butler with a single kick to the throat as I pulled a large black trash bag down over the kid. He was struggling, and that was starting to piss me off. Finally, I got so worked up over it that I lifted him up, turned him over, and bonked his head on the ground hard enough to break him like an egg. I felt him stop fussing and slump. I nodded to Rouge and handed her the note. Then, I snapped my fingers and pointed to the back of the property, the sign to meet me at the back fence.

She blinked and flew up to the kid's room while I charged across their estate and climbed up the fence. Once she came into view, the alarms went off. It didn't take long after that for us to scramble to Eggman's base on Mobius and teleport to the Ark where he was waiting.

Being on the Ark brought back every memory—good and bad—that I had of the place. After handing Chris's unconscious body over to the doctor, I walked alone to the observation deck, where I could stare down at Mobius and think. I thought of how long I'd spent in this exact spot, examining the place I would be sent, but to destroy, not create. I was supposed to wreak havoc on that pitiful rock, and I was doing so. Very well, I might add. But for some reason, right now it didn't seem right to me. It felt like I was going against every fiber of my being, and it bothered me. I was created in the mid-1800's for destruction of humans, ironically by humans. Then, roughly a century later, I was trained to destroy humans, again by humans. Now, I was doing what I was built and trained to do, but it just didn't feel good. It didn't feel right at all. I was carrying out my original purpose, but was it the right purpose?

Then, I started thinking about my current relationship. Again, I thought whether or not we were taking it too fast. Personally, I decided it was going too quickly. We hadn't known each other for a week yet and we were already thinking of bunking in the same room. And beyond that, we'd both consented to having sex with each other. Still, we didn't even know each other. Well, we knew each other, but we didn't _know_ each other. She had no idea that I was already a hundred forty-six years old, or that I was a vampire, _or_ what kind of person I was beyond my exterior facade. I didn't know anything about her either, and that bothered me. If you ask me, what you don't know speaks a thousand times louder than what you do.

After a solid hour of standing alone, thinking to myself, Rouge and Chris walked onto the observation deck together, him with a bandage around his head. "Hey, that's the hedgehog that attacked Sonic in Station Square!"

"Yep. Go talk to him." I overheard her urge this worm to speak with me. I'd prefer not to talk to him, but he was already headed my way, and I—like an idiot—let my ear twitch when they strode in, so I screwed myself from that angle. They knew I knew that they came in. Damn it.

Chris stopped next to me and looked out in the direction of my gaze. "Whoa!" I glanced at him briefly through narrowed eyes before continuing to glower at the world. "So that's Mobius?"

"Nope." I snapped sarcastically, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "It's Jupiter."

Another kid that can't take a hint. "So why did you attack Sonic?"

"None of your business, brat." I snarled at him this time.

He still didn't get it. "Okay... so why'd you kidnap me?"

"If I tell you, do you promise to shut up and leave me alone forever? Or die? That'd be much better."

"Sure, if that's what it takes."

This kid was incorrigible. "I kidnapped you because I want the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic has one, and if he wants to see you alive again, he'll find the other and bring them to me. Simple as that."

"But why would you want the Chaos Emeralds?"

Damn this kid. "Because they're the ultimate energy source. With them, I can repay the doctor for freeing me from my prison." The truth was I planned to steal the Emeralds from Eggman and using them to blast the wretched planet in front of me into oblivion. When that was done and over with, I'd relocate to some other planet, one with no humans. There, I'd spend the rest of my days in peace, awaiting the end of days.

"Oh." He lowered his eyes. "But... why would you want to destroy the world?"

This caught me off guard. "What?"

"Well, Doctor Eggman told me he plans to threaten the world with annihilation unless they consent to making him their ruler." He looked at me like I knew. "Why do you want to kill everyone on Mobius? What did they do to you?"

"Simple." I replied, not pausing to think. "Call it revenge. They..." I trailed off there, trying to come up with something good. "They... did something to me... something no one can erase or reverse. I have no choice but to live with it. I want revenge." With that, I turned and walked away. Partially, it was the truth. I wouldn't be here if I hadn't been made immortal. And that immortality came on sharp fangs with a steep price. I know most humans dream of living forever, but if they were faced with the prospect, they'd back down faster than a mouse runs from a cat.

From the observation deck, I charged through the halls to the laboratory where Eggman was probably working. This triggered a flashback of the last time I ran through the halls after killing Maria and I tripped, falling flat on my face. For a while, I lay there in aggravated silence.

What had I become? I reflected on a time when everything was so easy for me. Before Dracula, before Elvira, before school. It was just me and the professor who created me, spending our time together like father and son. Everything was so simple. There was nobody there to bother us, nobody to tell us what we could and couldn't do, no thirst, no hunger, no suffering. Just the spray of the ocean he lived near, the smell of the sweet, salty air, the warmth of the California sun. I missed it so. But I couldn't bring myself to go back. All that would do was bring back every single happy memory I had of the professor all at the same time, plus that little voice screaming _It's your fault he's gone. You killed him. He'd have lived a happy life with his wife and children, but you just weren't strong enough to tough it out, you pathetic bastard._

I suppose deep inside, I was still that sixteen-year-old kid, bumped ahead into senior year, not ready for the world to stand on his shoulders, only wanting to live what life he could before it all blew up in his face. The last one hundred, twenty-eight years hadn't been able to scratch the surface of that kid inside me. They'd only been able to scar my mind, not my heart. I was only sixteen on the inside.

After a while, I staggered to my feet, dusted myself off, and found my way into the laboratory. There, Eggman was hunched over a large sheet of blue paper. "Hey, doc." I snapped, bringing him to attention.

He spun around and looked at me. "Oh, hello, Shadow."

"You have explaining to do." I growled, jumping into the air and landing on his chest, feet against his belly, hands already grabbing hold of his shirt and bringing his face close to mine. "What's all this about world domination? This wasn't part of the deal."

To this, he smirked. "That's easy, Shadow. You owe me for freeing you. I ordered you to obtain the Chaos Emeralds. You have no choice but to get me the emeralds. With them, I will achieve my life's dream—to rule the world!" He lifted his right hand and smacked me away, sending me flying through the air. Before I hit the ground, my head rammed against the wall, smacked into the cupboards below, I slumped to the floor and knew no more.

I don't know how long I was out. It could have been hours, days, _years_ for all I know. All I know is that I woke up slowly, I was in the lab when I did, I had a throbbing headache like I got a concussion, and I. Was. _Pissed_.

There was no one else in the room, so I got up as fast as my head would allow and made my way to the room I showed Eggman that housed the Eclipse Cannon. He was putting the five Chaos Emeralds we had into the barrel of the gun, so obviously Sonic wasn't here yet, and therefore I wasn't out for more than a day.

"DOCTOR!" I roared, ready to snap. As he turned towards me, I fired a single Chaos Spear at him, right through his arm.

He howled in pain and clutched the burning wound, the energy from the attack still eating away at his flesh. I reached behind me and pulled a hidden set of nunchuks from my back pocket. I started spinning them around, hitting my back, shoulders, twisting them in the air, tossing them from one hand to the other. "Wait, Shadow! Let me explain!"

A deep growl issued from my throat and I brought the nunchuks down on his cheek, welting his face and breaking the bone. Again, he screamed out, this one begging for someone to help him. I tossed my weapon away and lifted my right foot, set it down on his cheek, and applied pressure, slipping across his face and smashing his nose. "Fuck you." I hissed through clenched teeth, ignoring the increasing cranial pain.

With that, I fired another Chaos Spear through his legs, crippling him possibly for life. He shouted a third time, and this time I heard the door open as someone ran in to see what the commotion was about. Someone shouted my name, but by then my blood pressure was so high that all I could hear was the plasma rushing through my body and my own breathing. I could see there was a lot of blood pouring from his face, his arm, his leg, but it wasn't enough.

There was more damage to be done. Nobody—I mean _nobody—_treats me like a rag-doll. I threw my wrist backwards and pulled a small muscle. Out shot a six-inch hidden blade from my wrist, ripping through my skin and out of the cloth: a souvenir from the Clan. I knelt down with a sneer and pressed the blade against his throat.

"I could end you right now." I hissed low enough so only he could hear. "With the flick of a wrist, your head would roll off your shoulders, across the floor, and down that hole to be shot into space. No one would even remember your name."

He was whimpering, begging for mercy. "Please, no! Stop! PLEASE!" He whined.

"If you keep bitching, I will." I put the dagger back in its sheath (in my arm) and got up off him. I could hear fine now. "Mark my words. Cross me one more time, and you will feel this blade in your back." I turned and saw the one who cried my name was Chris.

As I strode past him, he spun and followed me. "What were you doing?"

"Never mind, urchin." I snapped, stopping long enough to glower at him. The kid reminded me a lot of Maria, but this was no time to go to pieces. "Now, you said if I told you why I wanted the emeralds, you'd leave me alone. Do so." Then, I left him.

Now, it was time to get down to business. I strode into the docking bay and waited there for Sonic to get here.

It wasn't long before he got there. The minute he jumped out of the ship that the yellow two-tailed fox flew—the logo said Tornado—I strode over. "I suppose you have my emeralds?"

He glared for a while, then pulled the two glistening gems from his pocket. "Yeah, they're right here. Now where's Chris?"

I smirked. "Follow me." I led him through the many hallways to the escape pod bay. One, the last one in the center of the room, had a small bomb implanted in the engine. When it was far enough from the Ark, it would explode.

Sonic stepped in and looked over at me. "Where's Chris?" He persisted, this time more urgent.

"First, the Chaos Emeralds." I snatched them from his hands and examined them. They were the real deal, but I could sense another energy source somewhere on his persona. I glared, then shoved him into the escape pod with the bomb, slamming it shut. "Sorry, faker, but I can't have you ruining everything. Sayonara, Sonic the Hedgehog." With that, I launched him into space, just as Chris Thorndyke ran into the room.

Of all the times he had to come into the room I was in, it had to be this one, and it _had_ to be _now_. As soon as he saw Sonic's pod explode, he went into hysterics. "SONIC!" He screamed, running to the window and pressing his hands against it.

"Come here!" I snarled, hooking my arms around his body and dragging him away from the window. He struggled more this time than when I kidnapped him, trying desperately to go help his friend, I suppose. "He's finished. Kaput. You're next." With that, I shoved him into a closet and slammed the door, locking it behind him. "When I get back here, be ready to die." Then, I left the room to the sound of the kid sliding to the ground and bawling. His fear was evident, and with good reason.

I met up with Rouge on my way to the Eclipse Cannon. I had to get the other five emeralds. Most of the walk, we said nothing to each other. The silence was suffocating. Finally, she stopped me near the door of my room.

"Shadow," she began, "I need to tell you something important."

I scrutinized her carefully. "What is it?"

She paused. "I... I think I've fallen for you," Rouge confessed.

I was speechless for a while. I opened my mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "F-fallen for me?" I stammered, eyes wide. "You... you've fallen for me?"

"I think so," she lowered her eyes.

To comfort her, I took her hands up in mine and gazed into her eyes. "I know the feeling, batgirl." She smiled slightly, but I could somehow read that there was something more. She had more to say, but didn't want to say it. Like a fool, I didn't pry.

I mean ask further.

We stood in a silent understanding for a while, then I dropped her hands and continued on to the Eclipse Cannon, pondering all the way. Maybe it was because I was a vampire that I was so attracted to this bat. I'd never felt this way for anyone before. I don't remember if I said that already. This girl brought something out of me that I thought died with the professor. Even the father-son affection I had with him never stood a chance to this. Was I in love?

I had to stop thinking about this. Too much thinking can be unhealthy, so I shook it off and strode into the Cannon room. To some extent of my luck, the doctor wasn't there. This would be easier than I thought. With a flick of my wrist, the five emeralds dislodged from their sockets and floated over to me. I couldn't help but smirk when the weight of all seven of the Chaos Emeralds sat in my pockets.

On my way out, Rouge grabbed my arm. "Please, Shadow. Before we go back to Mobius. I... er..." she didn't know how to say it. "There's more I have to tell you. Shadow, I-"

Before she could finish, a nearby door shot out and slammed against the wall. In strode Sonic, not a scratch on him. "Hold that thought." I growled, turning to the blue hedgehog and preparing for a battle.

"Looks like you just couldn't get the job done." He jeered, crouching into a fighting stance.

With a smirk, I charged at him and rammed my shoulder into his chest, carrying him down the hall to the observation deck, where we had room to fight. "How did you survive that explosion?"

"I didn't. I escaped it." Sonic replied, removing a fake yellow emerald from his pocket. "This thing had enough energy to sustain a Chaos Control."

I sneered. He was trying to match my skills. "It appears I underestimated you. Here I thought you didn't have the brains to wiggle out of that one. But it's funny. By the time you realize what's going on, you'll already be in pain." This would be easy. With my speed, I'd be able to deliver the mother of all right hooks to his chin and send him flying right through the window. Being a vampire, I don't need air, so I'll live, but he won't.

"That's what you think." The next thing I knew, I felt a fist slam into the back of my head. I growled and spun around, finding myself face-to-face with a crimson echidna. He was the one the voice belonged to. "I'm not going to let you hurt Sonic."

Now they were making it too damn easy. "You're joking." I chuckled, hooking my hands under the spiny anteater's arms and threw him at Sonic, hitting my target spot on. They fell to the floor as I strolled over and put my boot down on the blue hedgehog's throat. "Can't beat me alone, huh?"

He rasped and wrapped his fingers around my ankle. "What did you do with Chris?" He wheezed.

A plan hatched in my mind. "Why would I tell you? What's in it for me?"

"What do you want?" The red echidna (I later found out his name—Knuckles) staggered to his feet, never taking his narrowed eyes off me.

I grinned and bared my teeth. "I'd like a Big Kid's Meal from Burger King." I replied in a heavily sarcastic voice. "Oh, and one of those Triple Thick Milkshakes from McDonald's. Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" I snarled. "I don't need you to get me what I want. I'm Shadow the mother-fucking Hedgehog."

It came to my attention that my foot was lifting. I glowered at Sonic and thought of stomping down on his trachea. "Whatever you need, it's yours." He hissed through clenched teeth, resentment apparent in his tone.

With another sadistic smile, I kicked his throat and lowered my foot to the ground. While he writhed in pain, I strode over to the blood-red mammal. "Go to the escape pods. Near there is a kitchen, and in one of the locked closets in there will be a red-headed kid, probably still whimpering. I'll give you the key on one condition."

Sonic had stumbled to his feet and leered at me. "And what's that?"

They were putty in my hands. "Leave. Don't bother me again. Oh, and you don't get the Chaos Emeralds. They're mine." I reached in my pocket and tossed the brass key behind me as I stepped over to the hallway. "Get off my Ark."

From there, it seemed simple. Sonic and his friends were off the Ark, Eggman was back on Mobius, and it was just me and Rouge left in space. We spent the night together in my old room, nothing really physical. After a while, we just sat on the bed and spoke of random things to pass the time. Favorite hangouts, bands, music, books, movies, that sort of thing.

Rouge seemed distant, however, and it bothered me quite a lot. When I inquired of why she behaved so, she waved her hand and said it was nothing. Instead of forgetting about it, her reaction vexed me doubly so. If it was nothing, then why should she hide it? As close as we were, I thought she'd tell me something important like that, but she refused to do so. Again, myself the fool, I didn't pry, assuming it was something too personal, maybe girlfriend trouble or something.

The next day, _I_ got the _father_ of all wake-up calls. She'd left the room at some point during the night whilst I slept and, instead of a gorgeous white bat lying next to me, cuddling to fight off the cold, I awoke with a human standing over me with a rifle pointed at my temple.

"Get up." He snarled, pressing the end of the barrel to my head.

Not quite in the mood to have my brains splattered all over the room, I consented, rolling off the bed and slowly lifting myself up with my legs. I was groggy and tired, in no condition to fight with full reflexive ability. With a yawn, I cracked my back and let him lead me out of the room to the docking bay, where there were at least five hundred other humans.

If that was discerning, you won't believe what I saw next to the Commander of the GUN. Or rather, _who_. It was Rouge, the same bat I'd slept with for the last three nights, the bat I'd trusted with some very personal secrets of how I fought, what type of person I was on the inside, everything about me. And she was telling all of those to the Commander. _The goddamn Commander!_ My heart sank. I trusted her, and she betrayed me.

Now, I had no reason to hide anything from her. She didn't give a damn about me, then I won't give a damn about her. "So... looks like none of it was real." I mumbled, lowering my head to give her the thought that I felt hurt.

Just as I thought. She flew down and landed in front of me. "Shadow, I..."

I never let her finish. The next thing she knew, the back of my right hand smacked her across the face and sent her flying through the air to the wall. She slammed against it and slid to the floor with a scream of pain. "You played me like a fiddle!" I roared, ignoring the sound of all the guns in the room cocking and training themselves on my chest. "Well, I didn't tell you everything, either!"

She stumbled to her feet and looked at me, touching the side of her face. "What are you talking about?" Rouge asked, regaining her balance.

In response, I grabbed the soldier behind me by the arm, spun him around so he fell to the floor in front of me, and sank my fangs into his jugular. He howled in pain as I gulped down the bright red liquid now spewing from his neck. I could feel my senses sharpening, my pulse quickening, and my strength returning.

Once I drained him dry, I let him drop and licked my lips and teeth. Now that I was ready, I leered at the ivory bat across the room. She stood there in a state of shock, never taking her eyes of my teeth, now jutting out from my upper jaw. I grinned, baring all of my teeth. Even half-way across the room, I could still feel the fear rising from the bottom of her soul. The smell of her terror was heavy and pungent, like the smell of fresh blood and vinegar.

It came to my attention that the soldiers hadn't up and fled, so I set my sights on them. "You should be running." I hissed, taking no notice that my voice sounded like there were two people talking, one of which was myself, the other a demon with a low, bear-like growling voice. With a sneer, I lunged forward and started busting faces.

I cracked a soldier behind me across the chin with my elbow and gave one in front of me a right hook to the nose. He fell flat and tripped the idiot behind him that was trying to rush me. Another soldier hit me in the left cheek with the butt of his rifle. In response, I hooked my fingers around the barrel and drove it up his nose, squeezing the trigger. Before he could fall, I did a backflip and hooked my toes under his chin, throwing him up into the air behind me, where he landed on five of the other opponents.

"Time out!" I shouted. To my surprise, they stopped. Then, I reached in my pocket and pulled out my iPod, plugging a set of charcoal ear phones into it and setting the ends in my ears. "Sorry. You guys screaming in pain is getting boring. Time in."

For most of the rest of the battle, all I could hear was a diverse array of Powerman5000, Marilyn Manson, Coal Chamber, Mudvayne, Korn, Bile, Alice in Chains, Papa Roach, and other miscellaneous rock groups. I found myself mouthing the words at times... _it's Arma-goddamn-mothuhƒuckin-geddon._

One of the soldiers shot me in the arm, and I watched quietly as my own inky black ichor oozed slowly down my bicep. The stench of fear rose into my nostrils as I drove my right fist through his head, his brain matter splattered on my knuckles. The next soldier tried to grab me from behind (I found that mildly disturbing), so I did a backflip and drove my boots into the top of his skull, sending a fresh spray of blood into the air. "Chaos Blast!" I shouted as my body began to glow crimson. The explosion sent several of the far-off soldiers flying through the air, while others unfortunate enough to be caught in the main blast radius to burn to a crisp. The sulfurous odor of scorched flesh poisoned the air.

I then noticed that the few soldiers that survived my attack had scrambled into the ship that got them to the Ark in the first place, along with the Commander. I also noticed that Rouge had left her hiding place, but could not smell her from the jet; she was still on the Ark somewhere. One soldier, a very young newcomer, was still cowering on the ground. As the jet turned about to leave, I lifted him up by the throat, snapped his neck with the flick of a wrist, tore his throat open, and dragged him to the exit. As the ship passed, I grinned and threw his body on their windshield, much to their dismay.

Focusing my attention on that traitorous whore, I shot out of the docking bay and followed my nose down a twisting compendium—er, collection—of tunnels and hallways throughout the place I spent a full year exploring. It was obvious she had no idea where she was going; at one point, she turned left toward the boiler room instead of right, where she could have reached the escape pods before I even knew she was gone.

After an hour of hunting, I found her. She had run herself into a dead end, one I knew there was no escape from. This chick was as good as mine. As soon as she knew I was there, she spun to look at me and backed away, crouching down and cowering in a corner. I strode over their with a victorious sneer, not stopping until my shadow cast down on her form. Without hesitating, I seized her throat and lifted her up, slamming her against the wall and pinning her where she'd have no escape—in the corner.

Then, I braced myself against the walls with both hands, blocking off any hope. "Start explaining." I growled, my head lowered, leering at her from above.

Rouge shivered and shrank as much as she could. "Shadow, I had no choice! It was my job!" She whimpered in her own defense.

My heart was already numb to her emotions. Now, I just wanted revenge. "You treated me like you actually gave a damn, and now I find out that it was all a ruse? None of it was real, was it? How could you do this to me and sleep at night?"

She seemed genuinely sorry. "Shadow, they would have killed me or worse if I'd refused this job. I was in a bind!"

"Now you're in a worse one. I ask you again. Was any of it real?" I snarled, finally pressing for information.

The bat still refused to answer the question. "Shadow, please! Have mercy!" She pleaded, trembling.

I sighed. Could I really bring myself to kill her? ...Yes. Yes, I could. I could kill her slowly, so she'd feel what she put me through. Torture her a bit, just to emphasize that she'd made me feel things nobody had ever made me feel before, then tore out my heart, numbing me on the inside. I could, and it'd be easy. I'm a vampire. I could make her a vampire so she'd have to live with her mistake for eternity, accentuated by the endless thirst that her frail body would have to endure until she had the guts to actually kill someone and drain their blood. That'd be easy, too.

Soon, I knew what I wanted to do. "I have two questions for you, then. Depending on how you answer them, I may spare your life. Was any of your feigned affection real?" Tears were streaming down her cheeks now as I pushed my body against hers and smelled her neck, pressed my fingers against the contours of her body. "My affection was real, after all."

I heard her hiccup slightly as she got ready to speak. "None." She whispered. "What's the other question?" I could feel in the pit of my gut that she was lying, but this was no time to go soft. She deserved to suffer as I had.

It was time. I opened my mouth and sank my teeth into her shoulder. Her lips parted in a silent scream as I drained her blood from her body. Once I could feel her weakening, I let her fall to the ground and watched as crimson liquid still oozed from the wound. She was fading into unconsciousness. My last words, if she survived, would plague her for the rest of her life. As I turned away and sauntered down the hall, I called back, "Was it worth it?"

**Author's Note**

It took me quite some time to get this story finished. I tried to make it good, but I sort of skirted the final fight scene. Sequel will be better if I write one.

I hate Twilight. That's what inspired me for this story. Vampires needed to have a pick-me-up after that glittery bullshit. On my planet, people who sparkle are referred to as "_Homosexuals_". Common slang for this is "gay", "homo", "rump ranger", "ass bandit", or the highly popular "Edward Cullen".

Before Twilight, vampires were awesome. Now, _most_ vampires are awesome.

Anyways, read and review!


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